Election Results

11:50 p.m. — Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell may fulfill a campaign promise hours after handily winning reelection against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes as he looks poised to become the next majority leader of the U.S. Senate.
The Associated Press reports Republican Thom Tillis has defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina, giving the GOP the six seats it needs to wrest control of the chamber from Democrats.
Republicans won seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, West Virginia and South Dakota,... Read more

11:45 p.m. FINAL TALLY — Kentucky Democrats retained their 54-46 majority after Republican Rep. Lynn Bechler handily won reelection in the end.
The closest race came down to 14 votes, as Republican Rep. Toby Herald of Beattyville narrowly lost to Democrat Cluster Howard in the 91st House District.
10:45 p.m. ALMOST FINAL TALLY — The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Democrats appear to have held a 54-46 majority after splitting open seat contests with Republicans and knocking off... Read more

11:00 p.m. FINAL TALLY — Republicans Ralph Alvarado, Danny Carroll, C.B. Embry, Wil Schroder and Julie Raque Adams have joined the state Senate, giving the Republicans two additional seats and expanding their lead to 26-12 over Democrats.
Another could be on the was as Sen. Walter “Doc” Blevins won his race for Rowan County judge-executive.
Alvarado, of Winchester, represents to lone surprise of the election cycle, although many attribute Senate Minority Floor Leader R.J. Palmer’s decision to air a controversial ad painting... Read more

9:50 p.m. — All congressional incumbents cruised to victory Tuesday night, posting sizable double-digit wins in races that have been called early.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, had the closest race, beating Democrat Elisabeth Jensen by 20 points. U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, was the next closest, with a 28-point win over Republican Michael Macfarlane.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, posted the largest win, besting Democrat Kenneth Stepp by 57 points. U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, cruised to a 45-point win, with... Read more

LEXINGTON — After addressing the Democratic crowd at her victory party Tuesday night, newly-minted Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes looked at the cameras at the back of the Carrick House in Lexington to speak to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
“Senator McConnell, this race is between you and me,” Grimes said (8:00 into her 19:00 victory speech below). Grimes locked in on her message that McConnell is “out-of-touch” and sought to blunt the attacks from Republicans who already have worked to link... Read more

UPDATED 12:33 a.m. —- Chris Harris, a Pike County magistrate, unseated Rep. W. Keith Hall of Phelps 51 percent to 49 percent in a bruising Democratic primary in eastern Kentucky’s 93rd District.
Harris ran tough ads, including one down the stretch of the primary in which Harris talks directly to the camera and says Hall became corrupt while in the state House. Hall faced ethics investigations, including a fine in 2011 from the Legislative Ethics Commission for directing coal severance tax... Read more

UPDATED WITH INTERVIEW: Max Wise, the Campbellsville University professor, will be the new state senator from the 16th state District, unseating freshman Sen. Sara Beth Gregory.
With no Democrat filed in that seven-county district, Wise is the senator-elect in the district that covers Taylor, Adair, Russell, Clinton, Cumberland, Wayne and McCreary counties.
Wise established a base in his home county of Taylor, where Republicans closed down the town square in Campbellsville to celebrate and for Wise to address his supporters.... Read more

*UPDATED 11:49 p.m. * — Democrat Elisabeth Jensen defeated Geoff Young to move on to face freshman Republican Congressman Andy Barr of Lexington in the November election.
Jensen was one of the few Democratic candidates in Kentucky to not only openly embrace the Affordable Care Act but to run on it, airing radio ads touting the increased access to health care.
Jensen, who founded an education advocacy organization, held steady throughout the night and won with 61 percent compared to... Read more

Not only did Republican Andy Barr wallop Ben Chandler in the new counties added to the 6th Congressional District, but Barr out-paced even U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s 2010 performance in those Democratic majority areas.
On Tuesday, Barr won overwhelming majorities in Wolfe, Menifee, Nicholas and Robertson counties and even cracked 60 percent in the normally reliably Democratic county of Fleming — all counties that were supposed to give the incumbent Chandler some breathing room in this election. Barr also defeated... Read more

House Democrats appear to have maintained a comfortable advantage in the state House and largely survived a Republican tide, thanks in part to a couple of squeaker races in the Owensboro area.
Democratic Rep. John Arnold of Sturgis won the unofficial vote totals in the 7th state House District over Republican Tim Kline by an astoundingly slim five votes in Union County and parts of Henderson and Daviess counties.
That apparent narrow victory, coupled with another nail-biter Democratic Rep. Jim... Read more